Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Proportion of schools not fully open due to Covid quadruples in a week

The proportion of schools reporting that they are not fully open because of suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 has quadrupled in a week. Attendance data from the Department for Education showed that 4 per cent of schools reported they were not fully open because of Covid as of last Thursday, up from 1 per […]

Starmer demands taskforce to close attainment gap

A national taskforce run by an independent body like the children’s commissioner should be set up to plan a national strategy to close the attainment gap, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader told the party’s “Connected” online conference this morning that the country needs “a national strategy with clear targets to close the […]

Heads’ anxiety peaked before lockdown and school reopenings, finds UCL study

Anxiety among headteachers peaked after partial school closures and phased reopenings were announced, but teachers’ wellbeing stayed “largely the same” during lockdown, according to a new study. Analysis of survey data collected by Teacher Tapp by UCL and paid-for by the Nuffield Foundation found that 38 per cent of heads reported “very high” work-related anxiety […]

Teachers fifth on priority list for testing, but no place for school pupils

Teachers with Covid-19 symptoms will be fifth on the government’s priority list for testing, it has been announced. But school pupils do not feature anywhere on the list, despite a pledge by ministers that they too would be given priority. We are continuing to improve the testing system to ensure teaching staff can get priority […]

NAHT: 4 in 5 schools have pupils isolating because of lack of tests

Headteachers have reported that pupils at more than four in five schools are isolating because they can’t get access to a Covid test. A survey of 736 school leaders by the leadership union NAHT found that 82 per cent of schools have children currently not attending because they cannot access a test to rule out […]

£50m for expansion, but some grammars get less inclusive

The government’s £50 million grammar schools expansion scheme to improve access for poorer pupils has instead created “more places for the middle classes”. We should be directing precious government resource elsewhere to really improve excellence and equity in the education system Analysis of admissions data from 14 of the 16 schools that split the selective […]

Anger as government admits test and trace website coding error

A coding glitch caused by the government’s “failure” to carry out proper software testing is preventing people from booking Covid tests. There have been widespread reports of people – including school staff and pupils – not being able to book tests via the government’s website, despite claims that local centres still have appointments available. In […]

Ofsted will check school ‘readiness’ to teach relationships and sex education from January

Schools will have their “readiness” to teach the new relationships and sex education curriculum assessed by Ofsted from January, the watchdog has said. And schools failing to teach about LGBT relationships from the summer term in 2021 risk a ‘requires improvement’ judgment for their leadership and management. New guidance issued by Ofsted this morning confirms […]

76 winners scoop silver Pearson Teaching Awards for 2020

Inspirational teachers from across the country have been honoured today for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of children. A total of 76 winners have scooped silver awards in the annual Pearson National Teaching Awards. The winners (full list below) will now be shortlisted to win just one of 14 gold awards at the […]